From Noise to Voice

Ironically, when things become such a potent part of your life it fades into background noise.

That is why when we check the media and find Americans and Europeans splayed everywhere not a single Asian in sight, it starts to feel as if your identity does not exist – your culture is not something you feel for because as much as your parents and grandparents raised you in to this sort of lifestyle, it cannot be sustained because there is a disconnect in the media, the channels, the things we constantly consume and feed ourselves with.

At first, you may not even realize yourself shifting cultures, dropping habits, to imitate the ones you see in the media be it television, magazines, social media, or others. It happens nonchalantly slow and the next thing you know you’ve forgotten how to speak in Filipino/Bisaya and are trying on every skin-whitening product you can find. Enter representation.

Representation is the act of talking or acting on behalf of something or someone, and with the entrance of recent hit films To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians, we, our people, our culture, and our stories are finally getting the much sought after screentime they deserve. And you are reminded that you exist and you are made proud that you exist.

However there are people who turn away from representation in the media and entertainment industry. They say it doesn’t sell, that there are more abundant eurocentric faces in the scene so employing Asians or integrating Asian qualities would be more bothersome, time-consuming, and expensive. Ultimately though, they just don’t find the sense in it.

But it’s a rapidly changing world and now peole are craving connection, identification, recognition, the reassurance of not being alone in their experiences – bad and good. The masses are sick of feeling envious, insecure, and lost and the big industries are gradually realizing this and are bound to cater to their demands.

A new age has ushered in. The background noise emerges, finally, to become our voice.